Pilots Say It's Another Flight 1549 Waiting To Happen

New York City official have been given a green light by a panel of "federal experts" to build a trash transfer facility less than half a mile from LaGuardia Airport, which has local pilots warning of another situation like Flight 1549, but with no guarantee of the same result.

Photo Credit Gregory Lam

The facility would be used to transfer garbage that is in sealed containers from trucks to barges which transport it out to sea. But the pilots say, sealed containers or not, the site will attract large flocks of birds which tend to congregate around such facilities. "It's just not a smart place to put it," said former US Airways Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who was the pilot on Flight 1549 which famously ditched in the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese. No lives were lost in what has become known as "The Miracle On The Hudson."

The facility was OKed because air traffic approaches LaGuardia's Runway 31 differently than it does at most airports, placing the trash transfer station just outside the runway's protected zone. But a wildlife biologist told USA Today that the birds who will be attracted to the trash site will behave just like any other birds.

The FAA was originally cool to the idea of the facility so close to the end of a runway at a major airport, but determined it would be safe if the city kept the building there under 100 feet tall. A study ordered by the DOT indicated the facility could operate safely as long as the New York Sanitation Department took aggressive steps to keep the birds away.

New York's deputy commissioner of sanitation Harry Szarpanski told the paper that the city operates a similar facility in Staten Island, and it does not attract birds. He said the facility is completely enclosed, no trash is loaded outside the building, and that air filters cut the odors that would attract birds to the site.

Construction is already underway at the site near LaGuardia. Wildlife Biologist Russell DeFusco, who was hired by opponents of the facility, said while newer trash site designs are far better at keeping birds away, an FAA study showed that even the most recent designs attract a few, and that can be dangerous for aircraft.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.nyc.gov/sanitation